Right before Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals tipped off, Victor Wembanyama had to watch Shai Gilgeous-Alexander receiving his second NBA MVP award. Wembanyama was one of three finalists for this distinction, and while some pundits thought that the San Antonio Spurs’ main man had done enough, Gilgeous-Alexander ended up prevailing over him to bag the Michael Jordan trophy again.
Wemby, however, would have the last laugh after leading the Spurs to a 122-115 victory in Game 1. After the game, the French phenom revealed his true feelings on watching SGA’s MVP ceremony.
“Feels like I still got a lot to learn…I want to get that trophy many times in my career.”
And, when Victor Wembanyama was asked if seeing Gilgeous-Alexander win MVP honors felt “personal,” Wemby gave a blunt response.
“Yeah. For sure.”
Whatever rage Wembanyama felt on Monday, he was able to channel it effectively on the hardcourt. The two-time All-Star finished with 41 points on 56.0% shooting, along with 21 rebounds and three blocks. Though just three days had passed since the Spurs wrapped up their second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Wemby barely showed any fatigue, playing 48 minutes in this double-overtime game.
Gilgeous-Alexander had a double-double performance with 24 points and 12 assists, but he struggled to shoot efficiently, going 7-for-23 from the field. Now that the Spurs have stolen homecourt advantage from the defending champions, SGA and the rest of the Thunder will have to figure out how to bounce back in Game 2.
“It’s 8 Billion Opinions”: Victor Wembanyama Downplays Talks of Being Best Basketball Player Today
Interestingly, when asked in the post-game media session if he is the best player in the world today, Victor Wembanyama shrugged off the superlatives.
“Do I feel like it right now? I feel tired. But it’s not a question I’m wondering right now. We’ll see. The world is eight billion people, so it’s eight billion opinions.”
Young as he is, Wembanyama has the rest of his career ahead of him to eventually stake this claim.
